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Column: Extreme weather has stressed out plants, trees

Wisconsin
11:07 p.m. CDT July 9, 2014

Stress from droughts in 2012 and 2013 and this terrible past winter are factors leading to excessive stress on trees, shrubs, perennials and even annuals and vegetables.
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Signs of the last several years are rearing their ugly heads. 2012 brought us the worst drought we’ve seen in quite some time. 2013 also was dry by the end of summer, not allowing moisture levels to recuperate. This last winter was the coldest we’ve seen in a long time. So where does that leave us now?

Calls and walk-ins have been pouring in — what’s wrong with my trees, why are my bushes brown, why are my shrubs dead. Well it is not a cop-out to blame it on the weather. Recent years have been extreme. Many samples have been sent to Madison specialist to ferret out the issues — is it this insect or that disease or a fungus or a bacterium? In some cases there is a bacterial or fungal infestation. But again, the overwhelming evidence is that the stress from the previous droughts and this terrible past winter are the factors leading to excessive stress on trees, shrubs, perennials and even annuals and vegetables. The added stress has allowed vectors of undesirable elements to become more dominant and thus start to show their ugly faces. My flowering crabs and apples had very few blossoms this spring, and even fewer fruits are developing as the summer continues. I wonder how that will affect the over wintering birds that adorn our landscape and bird feeders when the snow flies again.

So here’s the deal, even though your yews are green on the bottom and brown on the top, your boxwoods look about the same, the apples have leafed out and now have dying branches, and some of your favorite perennials just haven’t come back there are a few things that can be done. The yews and boxwood will recover, the brown branches may be starting to leaf out much later than expected or the brown can be pruned out. The bottom line is they will not be very pretty for a year or two. On the apples and crabs the dying branches probably should be removed unless they show some signs of life. Perennials will likely need to be replaced, although some of mine are late at coming out. Spring brought several perennial sales and the Master Gardener Plant Sale was a hit again this year. As the summer progresses the “big box” stores will be anxious to be finished with their inventory for the year. Sale, sale, sale!

Another part of the landscape that took a hit over winter has been our lawns. A lot of snow mold was evident shortly after snow melt. A lot of this took care of itself as the spring progressed. Now brown spots are showing up with the off-and-on dry/wet weather. Carefully loosen the soil, reseed and keep the seed moist to give it a good chance to germinate. Other molds also are showing up this summer and lots of weeds. Watering early in the day will give the grass needed time to dry and will keep molds down. Using a broadleaf weed killer can keep weeds down. Always follow label instructions. If your lawn is looking poorly overall, fertilizing may do more harm than good by forcing it to grow when the conditions are not right. Check with a reputable lawn care service as to the best approach to take.

One last thought: If you don’t like the weather in Wisconsin, wait a minute, it will change.

Walt Rasmussen is the summer horticultural assistant for the University of Wisconsin-Extension Portage County. To reach him, call 715-346-1589.